Wings of Fire
by TheSureFireWinner
Summary: Everyone knows the story. Prim is chosen. Katniss volunteers. Peeta is chosen. And that's when Gale stands up.
1. Chapter 1

Gale's POV  
>"Peeta Mellark." A boy walks out. Strong built, blonde hair that falls naturally over his forehead. Peeta Mellark. He's good natured, and with him being the baker's son and all, he's very popular with girls. But you'll never know what the games can turn you into.<p>

That is, if you survive.

I've seen past victors on television. Some dwindle into a pile of skin and bones. Some, hallucinate till they can't tell what's true or not. Some, of course, lead life normally, but then again there is only a handful. I'd heard the memories of the games haunt you in your dreams.

Now Katniss is going to be in it.

What are the odds of her winning? If she can lay her hands on a bow and arrow victory would be hers. If she doesn't, well then no one can be certain. The other tributes might over-power her. But of course we don't even know who they are, what they do. Right now the only one that poses a certain direct threat is Peeta Mellark. I remember he won in a wrestling match. All those years of handling the heavy trays of bread. If he were to ever challenge Katniss, chances of her winning would be down to almost zero. But usually tributes from the same district don't spar—they wait for the others to finish them off. It's better this way. No feelings involved. But as I said, you never know what the games turn you into.

Peeta Mellark. I watch him as he steps onto the stage. Is that fear I see in his eyes? Weird. I thought he would have tried to conceal it. Because being scared only gets you marked as a weak target. Or is it one if his tactics? A girl named Johanna Mason from District 7 once won because of this. She cried so much everyone just dismissed her as a snivelling speck. It turned out she was quite the killer. Smart. I look at Peeta and see the muscles in his hand. No one would probably be convinced if he did that though. His best bet would be to engage in combat with the other tributes. One of them Katniss.

Almost zero.

A foreboding feeling comes over me. My palms begin to sweat. I seldom do that—in fact, only once; when Rory had fallen so sick I thought he was going to die. What's wrong with me? I frantically wipe it off my shirt. But no matter what I do I just can't shake the feeling off. "Volunteers anyone?" Effie questions. She is met with silence. "No? Well then... It looks like our reaping here is over." Effie finally gains control over her hair and shifts it back into place with relief.

"Wait!" the word slips out of my mouth before I know it. "Wait!" I yell. "I volunteer!" the words spill from my tongue.

A hush settles over everyone. District 12's first 2 volunteers. All in one game.

"GALE!" a gasp comes from the spectators' direction. From the sound of it I know its mum. Don't look back, I tell myself. Don't.

"Well!"Effie looks a little surprised. "It's good to know the people of District 12 are still excited for the Hunger Games!" But you can tell she's pleased to finally have some action in our district. "Come on then!" she ushers me impatiently. "Don't want to keep the rest of us waiting!"

I step hesitantly onto the platform. Effie beckons to me, "Stand right here... Yes. Now let's introduce ourselves!"

I swallow hard, "Gale Hawthorne."

"Well! Looks like we have a different situation here. Why did you volunteer then? You're not even related. Or," she adds slyly, "Are you trying to save your girlfriend?" Effie winks at Katniss. I feel blood pooling at my face. Shit. The cameras are trained on our faces. I glance up at the screen which is divided into two, my face taking up half, Katniss's the other. Fortunately, our faces are unreadable.

"Of course I was kidding!" Effie laughs lightly. "Well everyone," she comes in between Katniss and I, placing her hands on our shoulders, "the reapings are officially over, and these are our girl and boy tributes of District 12. Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favour!" She announces with none of the happiness we feel.

I steal a glance at Katniss. Her face is a mask of indifference, but I know better. Deep down inside, it's obvious she's blaming me. Because if we both don't make it out, who would take care of her mother and Prim? And if she leaves Prim like she did last time...

I turn to whisper her name, to tell her I'm so sorry, to explain everything. But before I can utter a word, we are surrounded by Peacekeepers. They escort us down the stage. Out of the square. Into the Justice Building.

To our doom.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: here's the second chapter! There's been activities in and off in school so don't expect too recent updates either. But I'll try my best **

_Katniss's POV_

The first thing I do when I enter the room is to slump down on the bed. The room is beautifully furnished. There's a huge painting of a waterfall on the wall opposite the door with a velvet couch under it. But right now I don't care. All I can think of is Gale.

What is he playing at? Volunteering at the games? I thought we made a pact. Protect my mother and Prim. That was all I ask of him. What if we both don't make it out?

No.

When we both don't make it out.

I hear the door open. My mother and Prim enter. Right. This is the time allocated for the friends and relatives to visit the tributes. To see them for the last time.

To say goodbye.

I stay unmoving as mother and Prim settle beside me. We stay silent, giving each other time to sort out our thoughts. Good. There's too many things in my mind.

Finally, pushing Gale from mind, I break the silence. I remind my mother that if she ever needs help there's the book she wrote on herbs. Some of them can be found around the district. The others are in the woods, inaccessible. But she should be able to make do with the herbs here. Prim should never take tesserae. They should be able to make a tidy amount and enough to eat by selling and trading Lady's milk and cheese, along with the amount they'd make running the apothecary shop.

I glance up. Prim is fiddling with her dress. My mother looks down, stroking the silk blanket."Are you listening?" I plant my hands on her shoulder and wheel her around, locking eyes with her. "Can you do this?" My voice rises with urgency.

"Yes... I'll try..." She mumbles, her eyes trail off to the floor.

"No. Trying's not good enough. You must. You must take care of Prim. Do you hear me?" I'm yelling now. My heart is thumping against my chest, filling up the long silence that stretches out after my words. I'm so scared, scared of the games, scared of not being able to see them again, scared of Gale leaving me, scared that my mother would leave Prim all alone, scared of Prim huddling against the cold and hunger.

"You mustn't leave again. This time I won't be there to revive the house. The risks are too high." I say softly. "And this time, Gale won't be there too."

Prim looks up, "Why are you blaming Gale, Katniss?" she says bluntly. I flinch as she mentions his name but Prim, obviously oblivious to how I feel, continues. "Haven't you been with him for four years? Surely you know him enough to trust him? That he knows what he's doing?"

"Trust him? Why, of course I trust him!" I retort. "I trust him so much that he's willing to ignore the promise we made and leave my mother and sister to fend for their own while he has fun gaining fame in the hunger games! And he knows exactly what he's doing!"

Prim, startled by my intensity, goes quiet. "What's wrong with you Katniss? It's our final talk and you're so edgy." My mother defends Prim. I bite back a response. She's right. What am I doing? Why can't I just sit down and have a quiet peaceful talk? Prim is on the verge of tears now. Great. All I need now is for our last reunion to be full of tears and words of anger.

"She even got you a present." My mother nudges Prim. Prim produces a handkerchief. Even if it's wrapped, I can tell it's something small, something delicate. I take it gently in my hands and unfold it.

And lying there, cradled in my hands, is a mockingjay pin.

"Oh Prim," I gasp. "It's beautiful. Where did you get this?" I stroke the outer rim.

"I found it. On the way to school yesterday. In a clump of grass. I didn't look as if anyone would miss it, so I just took it." Prim says. For a while she hesitates. "Promise you'll come back."

My finger freezes. There's something about the way she says it that sends an arrow through my heart. _Promise me you'll come back._ Her voice is so full of hope I can't bear to tell her that I won't. Twenty-four tributes. Only one victor. Chances are that it won't be me. That it'll never be me.

But instead I lean forward and hug her. Breathe in her own unique Primrose smell. Feel her hair tickle my cheek. Tell her the four words deep down inside I hope will happen.

"I swear I will."

**Author's Note again: now some of you may be asking why didn't I include Madge. Well my main reason is because I didn't wan't it to be too much like the hunger games. It'll be awkward. Oh and I heard Madge won't be coming out in the movies as well—they'll say Prim found the pin. I kind of wanted to try it out and see how it looks. **


	3. Chapter 3

**AU: great! Finally found time to upload another chap. I'm so sorry for the long delay... but it's hard to come up with time anyways people, if you've read it please review, comment, edit, suggest ideas... you get the point right? Review will also motivate me so I can get another chapter to you as quickly as possible!**

**Well basically I just mean please review :P**

Time flies. Especially when you're saying what you know are your last words you know are your last word to your family. Especially when everyone is telling you how much they love you, how important you are in their lives.

The peacekeepers knock on my door as soon as time is up. Prim buries her face in my mother's arms. I follow the peacekeepers out, biting viciously on my bottom lip to stop it from trembling. I want to present myself to my district as me, Katniss Everdeen, the girl who hunts, not the girl who cries.

The minute I exit the Justice Building I catch sight of Gale. He sees me as well and moves towards me. Peacekeepers shift and block him. Technically tributes are supposed to be rivals, not two people laughing and hugging. I have an impression they probably don't want to broadcast our reunion. So be it. I don't think I'm in the mood to see him anyway.

It is about this time the reporters notice us. They swarm towards us with their insect-like cameras and equipment. Most of them crowd around Gale though, trying to fish out information on why exactly did he volunteer. Peacekeepers push through the crowd and I do my fair share shoving and squeezing my way to the train. When I finally get in Gale's still a good 5 metres behind me. I disappear into the train, cutting Gale of from my line of sight.

When I am shown my room I grab the handle and lock myself in. I turn around, slowly taking everything in. It's much more fancier than the Justice Building. Soft baby blue curtains adorn the window at the far end of the room, its ends gently brushing the silk blanket lying on a bed below. Across it is a ornate hazel-nut coloured cupboard, along with a dressing table. There's a coffee table in the middle of the room and a couch beside it. A glass door to my right that slides open to reveal my own personal toilet.

I hear the train rumble. Looks like Gale's finally in. I step inside the toilet and peel off my mother's blue dress, dump it in the washing machine and undo my braid. I'm itching for a good wash, so I don't bother filling the bathtub and use the shower instead. I've never been in a shower before. I jab uncertainly at a red button and hot, warm water pours down on me. Hot showers are a luxury we could never afford back then in 12. We only had hot water if we boiled it ourselves.

When I'm done I towel myself dry, grab a bathrobe and check the cupboard for clothes to wear. I chose a thin black cotton shirt. Sinking down into the bed, I stare at the ceiling, thinking of my mother, thinking of Prim, how she looked at me with her deep blue eyes, and how she pressed the pin into my hand...

The pin

I bolt out of my bed and wrench open the washing machine. Fortunately the machine hasn't started the full round yet and I'm able to fish the dress out and dig around its pocket until I find the pin. I sit down on bed. I haven't been able to look at it carefully at the Justice Building but now I hold it up. A ray of light shines through the window and falls on the pin. It emits a soft golden hue, reflecting the sunlight. I stare, mesmerised, flipping it round and round. The mockingjay is of one in flight, its wings extended, connected to a ring by only its wing tips. I run my finger over it gently, feeling the marks that make its feathers.

Mockingjay. It was somewhat of a slap in the face to the Capitol. Years ago, during the Dark Days when the districts rebelled, the Capitol had created the jabberjays. It was one of the many genetically created creature called muttations, or mutts for short. The jabberjays could hear and replicate exact human voices and words. The Capitol sent them into the rebel's base and camps to eavesdrop on their movements and plans. Of course the rebels suspected something when their projects were constantly foiled. And when they found out about the jabberjays, they readily fed false information to the Capitol and made them look like fools. The Capitol then abandoned the jabberjays, leaving them in the wild to fend for themselves, expecting them to die.

Only the jabberjays didn't die. Instead they adapted to the wild and mated with the mockingbirds, creating a whole new species named mockingjay. They had lost the ability to produce words, but could still imitate human voices from the cries of a baby to the grunts of a grown man. Coupled with the fact that they also have the genes of a mockingbird in them, they make a beautiful chorus whenever they sing.

I fasten the mockingjay pin on my shirt. It literally shines against the black background. Somehow I feel comforted. It's as if Prim's right beside me, that I can protect her from every harm. Only thing is that I can't, and I won't be able to.

A knock startles me out of my thoughts. Effie's voice bubbles through, telling my it's time for supper. I stand up and head for the door.

Right.

It's time to confront Gale.


	4. Chapter 4

Effie leads me through a winding way of corridors and halls. It'll be a miracle if I find my way back. It gives me time to think what I should say to Gale. I settle between yelling vulgarities and slapping him. In fact I'm so engrossed in thinking up a dozen different ways on how to slap a guy when Effie halts at the dining room I almost slam into her. I stop myself just in time.

When I glance up Gale's looking at me. It's obvious he's itching to have a private talk with me. Very well. I shall savour every mouthful and eat as slowly as possible.

The food arrives almost immediately after I sit down. A thick green carrot soup, green salad, lamb chops and mashed potatoes, cheese and fruit, a chocolate cake.I take a first bite, then shovel the rest down. Effie urges us to leave some space since there's more to come. I tell myself to slow down. But I can't help it. I've never tasted such good food before, and it feels great to have food served before you, and not having to hunt for it yourselves. Even Gale, who reluctantly picks up the spoon, can't deny that fact.

"Where's Haymitch? Did you see him around?" Effie questions brightly.

"What?" I'm in the midst of eating a hot cinnamon roll that practically melts in my mouth so it comes out as 'rar?' instead.

Effies slaps the back of my hand sharply. "Manners. Don't talk with your mouth full."

"I haven't seen him since the brilliant performance he'd put up on stage." Gale replies matter-of-factly.

"Darn. He's never here for the tributes' first meal." Effie sighs, exasperated. She storms out of the room, determined to find Haymitch and drag him back here, leaving me and Gale all alone.

How romantic.

I polish off the last of the roll on my plate, eating as slow as I can, all too aware of how impatient Gale is. When I'm done I stand up and walk towards the door. "Katniss." Gale is calling me. I ignore him. "Katniss!" He stops me. Our eyes lock. "I just wanted to protect you."

"Protect me?" I snap. "Well thank you, but I think I rather you protect ny family instead!"

"I know. I'm sorry Katniss, I didn't mean to-"

"Then why did you volunteer in the first place?" I yell.

My sudden outburst shuts him up. "Because..." He hesitates. "Because the alternative would be to lose you."

Gale has never talked to me like this before. Frankly speaking, I'm confused. I stare at him, searching for any clue to tell me what is going on in his mind. I find an unreadable void. I break off, partly because things are getting so confusing, partly because all I want to do now is sleep and not think of anything. I head down a corridor, until it splits into a fork. Great. I forgot I have absolutely no idea how to get back. I hear footsteps behind me. I turn around, to tell him to leave me alone, to tell him to get off my back.

And that's when he kisses me.

In the four years we've known each other Gale has never shown any clue that our bond was anything more than friendship. Meet in the woods. Catch up. Hunt. Trade. That was it. And he'd never crossed the fine line into love before.

Until now.

And the thing is, I don't resist.

His soft lips press against mine. An electrifying spark goes through me. I wrap me arms around his neck, leaning into him. He smells of our morning in the woods, a soft, sweet fragrance of fallen leaves. His body presses against mine, as my heart pummels my ribcage.

Finally he lets go, breathless, holding me at arms' length. "I've always wanted to do this," he admits. "Katniss, trust me. Everyone out there thinks I'm a jerk, trying to steal the limelight, volunteering for the games. But only you know the truth." He takes my hand. "Katniss, can you trust me?"

I hold up our entwined hands, the ends of my lips lifting into a hint of a smile. Gale gets the message and his face brightens. "Come on, let's go," I say, my face blushing. I turn into the right corridor. Gale yanks me up short, "It's left, you idiot!" I scowl, letting him lead me back.


End file.
